Every year, hands down… these are my favorite blooms in the garden. The color on these pink peonies looks positively electric this year! This peony plant was transplanted from a farmhouse garden on Long Ridge Road in Stamford. They are thriving here in Morningside…. Mille merci Carolyn and Christine!
Archive for May, 2010
in bloom: more peoniesMay 30th, 2010Every year, hands down… these are my favorite blooms in the garden. The color on these pink peonies looks positively electric this year! This peony plant was transplanted from a farmhouse garden on Long Ridge Road in Stamford. They are thriving here in Morningside…. Mille merci Carolyn and Christine! |
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return to shangri laMay 29th, 2010If you were fabulously rich and could own a home anywhere, where would you build your dream house? I’m not sure of my own answer, but let’s talk about Doris Duke, since in her case this was not a hypothetical question. Sole heir to the Duke tobacco fortune, this reclusive billionaire discovered Hawaii as she [...] |
If you were fabulously rich and could own a home anywhere, where would you build your dream house? I’m not sure of my own answer, but let’s talk about Doris Duke, since in her case this was not a hypothetical question. Sole heir to the Duke tobacco fortune, this reclusive billionaire discovered Hawaii as she traveled the world on her honeymoon. After building Shangri La on the shore near Diamond Head in 1937, Duke spent the rest of her life conintually evolving her Hawaii home into a showcase for her Islamic art collection. The property is still under restoration, but was opened to the public a few years ago. Our trip in March was my second time on this escorted tour of the Shangri La house and grounds.
If you want to tour this house in person, you’ll want to get a reservation well in advance. There are only three tours a day and they often sell out. The tour begins at the Honolulu Academy of Art. As a sidebar, during my childhood summers I used to take drawing classes here and I have fond memories of camping out in the shaded courtyards to paint or draw. Museum admission is included in the price of the Shangri La tour!
Your tour ticket includes transportation to Shangri La. Ladies, when you board the bus, you’ll be greeted with one of these large hisbiscus flowers just to remind you that you’re about to visit a true tropical oasis. Our final destination is strikingly close to my family’s home near Diamond Head. We could have walked there, but I’m sure the Kahala neighbors wanted to cut down on parking issues and foot traffic in this exclusive oceanfront stretch.
Upon arriving we were split into 2 groups and left at this unassuming entrance. It’s decidedly unassuming and will leave you unprepared for the breathtaking entrance hall screen and courtyard on the other side of the front door. You’ll have to visit or take my word for it… I wish I had photos, but they do not allow interior photography!
So you’ll have to take the online tour to see the inside, but what a backyard! Need to dock your boat? Of course!? Duke had this little harbor blasted into the shoreline and when she wasn’t in residence, it became a popular swimming spot for locals…and still is, as you can see below..
What a killer view from the main house! Behind the pool is the Playhouse, with Diamond Head looming in the background.
On the lanai, here is just a taste Duke’s art collection that you will see throughout the interior of the house. In college I took an Islamic art and architecture class from Sussan Babaie and for a while I contemplated pursuing art history. That phase has passed, but I still love the colorful tile-work and complex geometric patterns.
A little floral breather…Exterior view of Doris Duke’s bedroom.
And we’re back at the Academy of Art!
Grapefruits? Every time I see this photo I just love this fruit and floral arrangement! This vignette is right next to the covered outdoor seating at the museum restaurant. Need to fuel up before browsing the Academy collection? There’s lovely lunch menu and you don’t even have to leave the building.
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sailing into the long weekendMay 28th, 2010It must have been race night at the Milford Yacht Club last night. While we were at my in-laws’ for dinner, the sailboats came right out to the red can in front of their house. You can see Charles Island off in the distance.At our office, today is our first official holiday since New Year’s [...] |
It must have been race night at the Milford Yacht Club last night. While we were at my in-laws’ for dinner, the sailboats came right out to the red can in front of their house. You can see Charles Island off in the distance.At our office, today is our first official holiday since New Year’s Day. I am definitely ready for a three-day weekend! Hope you have some good plans. Get out there and enjoy!
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in the moodMay 27th, 2010Wow, this stopped me in my tracks! According to WordPress, yesterday I hit my 200th post since starting this blog last fall. Thanks to all of you dear readers who check-in on my ramblings. I wish I had more time and photos to share with you! Earlier this week I was oddly moved to enter a mood [...] |
Wow, this stopped me in my tracks! According to WordPress, yesterday I hit my 200th post since starting this blog last fall. Thanks to all of you dear readers who check-in on my ramblings. I wish I had more time and photos to share with you!
Earlier this week I was oddly moved to enter a mood board into a online contest to update a home office. I’m not sure why, since I haven’t even contemplated decorating half the rooms Chez Dorney! I would even venture to say the biggest offender is my very own office, where I have piles of boxes, stacks of paper and a sum total of ZERO interior design effort.
This definitely isn’t my dream office line-up (below), but the task was Antro meets Coastal Living meets Restoration Hardware. This 2 hr exercise did teach me the benefit of having some vision assembled before going out to shop!
1. Anthropologie: Beach Bucket Curtain 2. Restoration Hardware: Lorraine Chair 3. etsy: refurbished vintage electric fan 4. Pottery Barn: Brentwood Floor Lamp 5. Ballard Designs: Le Poeme Rug 6. Pottery Barn: Conservatory Lantern 7. Anthrpologie: Small Rope Magnifier 8. Crate and Barrel: Strut Work Table 9. Restoration Hardware: Madeline armchair 10. Anthropologie: Reassembled Mirror 11. Ballard Designs: Tuscan Bookcase 12. West Elm: Weathered Wood Hanging Strand
Since it’s still the month of my birthday, I have a discount at Anthropologie (how cute is that candle necklace they send in the mail!?) and I intend to use to spruce up some lucky room in our house!
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stay cool with waiola shave iceMay 26th, 2010I’m ready for summer, but today was a bit intense. It was in the 90′s, blazing hot for a May day in Connecticut and I wanted to share a frosty treat (from Hawaii) to help cool things down! You may be thinking, this looks like a snow cone, but it’s not. It is so much better! The ice [...] |
I’m ready for summer, but today was a bit intense. It was in the 90′s, blazing hot for a May day in Connecticut and I wanted to share a frosty treat (from Hawaii) to help cool things down! You may be thinking, this looks like a snow cone, but it’s not. It is so much better! The ice is literally shaved from a block of ice and though the results is packed into a cup or cone, the overall texture is much smoother. When you order, you select your syrup flavors. I think it can hold up to three? My grandfather used to take us to Waiola’s when I was a kid. I always ordered the rainbow shave ice. I still love the colorfulness of it, but it’s no longer my favorite flavor. I also remember there was ALWAYS a line. Here’s a tip, if you go on a rainy day, the line is a lot shorter. When you’re on a tight vacation timeline, you have to go even when it’s drizzling… This was the first time I’ve just walked right up to the window and ordered! 
Brent convinced me to try a shave ice with ice cream at the bottom of the cup. Like the filled malasada, I was relunctant to toy with perfection… but what can I say the kid has good taste!
The problem with food blogging is that taking photos gets in the way of eating. So I apologize for the quality of these photos which I’m sure I took with one hand on my G10 and the other, holding my lilikoi pineapple shave ice.
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portsmouth: the friendly toastMay 26th, 2010Did you actually believe my last blog post when I wrote that I didn’t research a single place to eat in Portsmouth? Let’s be honest, I did have one stop on the agenda. D and I woke up early on Saturday for breakfast outside of the hotel. With my schedule, the only option was the Friendly Toast, [...] |
Did you actually believe my last blog post when I wrote that I didn’t research a single place to eat in Portsmouth? Let’s be honest, I did have one stop on the agenda. D and I woke up early on Saturday for breakfast outside of the hotel. With my schedule, the only option was the Friendly Toast, at opening, in order to make it back for my 8 am meeting. 
Michele and Burke have already been to the Friendly Toast, so it came highly recommended. I love the kitschy decor, but the food was also quite good (and I’m not really a huge fan of breakfast)! Those are my coconut cakes (coconut, cashews and chocolate chip pancakes) in the foreground, but D’s jalapeno cheese thick-cut toast (with butter) stole the show.
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downtown portsmouth new hampshireMay 26th, 2010This year I spent my birthday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was my first visit, but unfortunately I don’t have much to share… I was in a hotel meeting room most of the time. I did to get outside for about an hour before dinner. There are a large number of shops, restaurants and bars [...] |
This year I spent my birthday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was my first visit, but unfortunately I don’t have much to share… I was in a hotel meeting room most of the time. I did to get outside for about an hour before dinner. There are a large number of shops, restaurants and bars in the area and it’s a very walkable downtown. There’s brick everywhere and the city’s got an old New England feel to it. The Piscataqua River forms the border between New Hampshire and Maine. If you decide to visit, it’s just a quick ride over the bridge to go outlet shopping in Kittery. 
I knew we wouldn’t have any free meals on our own, so I didn’t research a single place to eat. A fellow board member mentioned the chowder at the River House came highly recommended so we split a cup. This isn’t the usual New England clam chowder, it has fish in it as well.
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double the cake, double the funMay 25th, 2010I can’t believe it’s been a year since Emily and Michael were born. Having no kids of my own, I worried their first birthday party might be a dangerous experiment in controlled chaos, but the afternoon went off without a hitch. Of course their mom was an event planner in her previous life and I should know [...] |
I can’t believe it’s been a year since Emily and Michael were born. Having no kids of my own, I worried their first birthday party might be a dangerous experiment in controlled chaos, but the afternoon went off without a hitch. Of course their mom was an event planner in her previous life and I should know better than to underestimate her party planning skills. We caught up with Jo and Pete’s family and the afternoon’s musical entertainment proved that children’s songs have not changed much since I was a kid.
!
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a walk in the parkMay 24th, 2010We had a little time to kill in Manhattan and on a sunny (but blustery and pollen-filled) Saturday earlier this month, we stopped in at Bryant Park. I know they aren’t the same, but these green chairs remind me of the Tuileries in Paris. You can’t help but smile in this oasis of leafy tranquility right behind the NY Public Library. [...] |
We had a little time to kill in Manhattan and on a sunny (but blustery and pollen-filled) Saturday earlier this month, we stopped in at Bryant Park. I know they aren’t the same, but these green chairs remind me of the Tuileries in Paris. You can’t help but smile in this oasis of leafy tranquility right behind the NY Public Library. Just looking back on these shots makes me relax a bit and that’s always welcome on a Monday morning. In other news from my weekend, our new neighbors moved in, Brent came to visit, we discovered the gardening wonders of Van Wilgen’s in Branford and last but not least, I broke the screen of my much-hated Blackberry Storm. I’m not sure if this week will bring a new cell phone purchase. I hope not. I’ll have to think back to these photos while I’m waiting at the Verizon Wireless store.
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portland: duckfatMay 23rd, 2010This was our third trip to Portland and I refuse to leave the city without getting french fries. Yes, you read correctly, french fries. I can be a staunch creature of habit and every time we return to Duckfat I remember why I’ve been waiting for to tear into that paper cone once again. And if these beauties aren’t enough of a [...] |
This was our third trip to Portland and I refuse to leave the city without getting french fries. Yes, you read correctly, french fries. I can be a staunch creature of habit and every time we return to Duckfat I remember why I’ve been waiting for to tear into that paper cone once again. And if these beauties aren’t enough of a tasty treat, Duckfat offers multiple homemade dipping sauces. I stick to the truffle ketchup because, well, why mess with perfection? There are also tasty paninis (made with Standard Baking Co bread) and salads (at this point, why bother? ) beignets, milkshakes and more. To satisfy a french fries fix in Connecticut:
Two good spots in New Haven: Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro and 116 Crown (with truffle oil and parmesan, of course). I overheard the fries are also good at Rudy’s, but I haven’t tried them myself? Other thoughts?